SEQUIM — Sequim City Council members are expected to vote on putting a city metropolitan park district on the 2016 ballot, while a competing measure to solely fund the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center has drawn more than enough signatures to place it on this year’s Aug. 4 ballot.
The Sequim City Council will meet at 5 p.m. today at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
The proposed city resolution calls for a broad-based, city approved metropolitan park district on the ballot in February 2016 to fund various parks and recreation facilities and activities.
The city’s metropolitan park district would include input from recreational interests that include tennis and pickle ball players, the Sequim School District, the senior center, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, Sequim Family Advocates and softball, bicycling, Little League and garden club members, among others.
The city would work with Clallam County Commissioners to develop an interlocal agreement that outlines a specific operational and capital plan to be implemented if the voters approve it.
The proposed city resolution says that the city will work with the pool and exercise center, which is also known as SARC, to find short-term solutions to fund the organization through 2017 and encourages SARC to place a one-year levy on the ballot in November 2015 for short-term operational funding.
SARC is slated to run out of operating funds by December 2016.
But a SARC proposal for a metropolitan park district seems headed for a August vote.
Since early March, a citizens group has gathered signatures on a petition to place such a measure on the Aug. 4 ballot.
As of Friday, more than 4,400 signatures — greater than the goal of 3,500 — had been collected through volunteer efforts, according to Virginia O’Neil, spokeswoman for the citizens committee.
The group has a May 1 deadline for turning over the signatures to the county auditor. If a sufficient number are valid, the auditor will place the measure on the August ballot.
The City Council had postponed a decision about the resolution on March 23.
And since then, the proposal has changed.
In its original form, the resolution called on SARC to halt its petition drive.
Since then, that language has been removed.
“It was a month ago when the resolution was before the council, and a lot has happened in a month,” said City Manager Steve Burkett.
“I think we got a clear message from SARC that they are not interested in changing their plans, so there is no sense in including that.”
SARC is a junior taxing district formed in 1988 as Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1.
Following the Feb. 10 voter rejection of a property tax levy of 12 cents or less per $1,000 assessed valuation, the SARC board passed a resolution Feb. 28 that outlined a three-pronged approach to acquiring public funding.
Passage of a levy requires a 60 percent supermajority.
Although 57.5 percent of voters approved the levy in February, that wasn’t enough for passage.
The SARC resolution also encouraged the formation of a citizens committee to gather signatures on a petition calling for the county auditor to place a metropolitan park district measure before voters in August.
A simple majority is required to approve creation of a metropolitan park district, which would create a permanent tax.
And although the park district board could levy up to 75 cents per $1,000 valuation, the SARC petition says it would levy 12 cents per $1,000.
The city remains opposed to the passage of the SARC-backed metro district.
“The key thing in terms of the city’s thinking on this important policy issue is we think it will be better to have a broadly based [metropolitan park district] on the ballot instead of a narrowly focused one that would just fund the needs of the swimming pool,” Burkett said.
“We are opposed to that approach and would like to work with SARC and others on a broader based approach.”
In other business, the city council is expected to approve two appointments to the Clallam County Economic Development Council, approve a resolution adopting a new facility rental policy and adopt an ordinance amending fees and charges for city owned rental properties.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
